I know this has been done many times before, but a lot of my “go to” top quality bridles are no longer made. A friend of mine has an Otto Schumacher that has been a huge disappointment in leather quality. I had been saving up to buy a Jerry’s – but they are no longer made. It seems that you can no longer get a five-star bridle either. Where can you get a top quality bridle with top-quality leather these days? I personally was very disappointed with my last Passier, even though it was a high end one. If price is not a major object – what bridle do you choose these days?
Given the choice, I would probably buy a Dobert.
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I stop at “good enough.”
I have two black Stubben snaffle bridles that I got second hand, one well used and one as new.
I don’t love black leather in general, it doesn’t age nicely like brown leather.
However the Stubbens seem as nice quality leather as any black bridles I see in the tack stores. They are however very plain tradition bridles: stealth luxury 
I feel like hunter world is where people really seek excellent traditional strap goods, but those are of course brown.
I feel like when dressage bridles go upmarket they tend towards bling, patent leather trim and rhinestones, and ergonomic poll padding, and ginormous cranks. All of which adds to the price without adding to the basic quality of the bridle.
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I’ve always wondered if something about dying leather black damages it because it’s so hard to find a black bridle I can stand (I’m a huge fan of h/j bridles - I suppose some people like stiff tack, but I hate it). The only black bridle I’ve ever liked was a KL Select - not Red Barn, not their Italian leather stuff (can’t speak to that but I dislike Red Barn). Gorgeous. Not sure if they make them anymore.
Dressage Extensions offers a KL Select. Black Country, Vespucci and Albion all offer bridles that look to be high quality without all the bling.
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A high end Dobert would probably be my choice, or, based on the quality of the noseband I purchased a couple of years ago, a Passier.
My Dobert is probably 25 years old and still in excellent condition–it’s all raised leather, a split crown which I like on this horse–he’s not much of a fan of the one-piece crown, so it only has buckles on one side, very sleek and beautiful and minimalist. I will admit to a minimalist blingy browband as well–and I had to buy a Dobert so it fit the split-crown
Where do you find the Dobert bridles?
You can get them from Germany through eBay (kittybee) or Facebook (German Tack). Same lady, she’s awesome! You can message her if you don’t see what you want, she does a lot of custom stuff. (Have gotten 2 pairs custom boots from her.)
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FWIW, the last Jerry’s I handled was absolutely not the quality that I have seen in the past, so maybe it’s serendipity that those won’t work out. Every possible corner had been cut. Most notably, the back side of the leather hadn’t been dyed and the keepers were stapled rather than stitched. I have some cheap cheap India bridles that had better labor investment.
Oberon Equestrian in England carries them too–she’s very responsive and helpful with custom stuff, too.
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What is OP’s definition of “high quality” leather?
For instance, I do not believe that KL Select, Schockemohle, PS of Sweden, Vespucci or Otto Schumacher are high quality strap-goods. They all feel fabulous coming out of the bag, but my requirement for “high quality” is that it still has to feel good and strong after 5 years of hard work. Feeling soft and supple when brand new is not synonymous with quality - and soft leather will break down quicker than harder leather in general.
So, that eliminates a lot of competitors.
Stubben and Courbette (brand new and old/used) are my go-to. Courbette can feel real stiff coming out of the bag, but that bridle will look brand new ten years down the road if you take care of it. I’ve found that KL Select and Vespucci bleed too much for my taste, and fade and get drabby after a year or so. PS of Sweden in my experience starts to look dingy kind of quick and doesn’t look very polished even when clean, after a while. Schockemohle has quality issues with stitching and stapling, and OS is good leather but the price is astronomical when it is the same quality as mid-range tack, but you’re paying for the customization and the brand.
One American company I have been very impressed with, and the name is escaping me and I am really frustrated by it, is the company that made Nunn Finer strap goods - amish company, had a catalog and no online presence --anyone want to help me out?
I think it starts with a B. Anyway, their leather is fantastic and the quality of hardware is very good. I have not had a single piece of their tack break, fray, snap, unglue, unstitch, or whatever - and I ran an entire barn with their tack and it’s a real shame I’m forgetting their name at the moment… it’s early and I haven’t had my coffee yet, though!
Another brand I like is Eponia; for the price, that is a very high quality bridle.
So long spiel aside, I’ve been happiest with Stubben, Courbette, Eponia and that-bridle-company-I-cant-remember for black tack.
I have a Dobert bridle too - it is nice. I am not sure if it is nicer than my Eponia though.
Kieffer is still a fairly good brand too, as is Passier… but I’d say they are mid-level; better than KL Select/Red Barn, Schockemohle and PS of Sweden, but not in my opinion near the quality of other bridle makers.
Albion has some nice tack too, I’ve been happy with their breast plates and bridles. I’d skip Devoucoux and CWD, the fitting is always weird and the price astronomical compared to the quality.
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Are you thinking of Bartville, Beowulf? Wow, we disagree madly on bridles! My KL Select was lovely after 10 years of work, though I event so it was only used 3x / week. It was a figure 8 though and even the drop part stayed beautiful. I got a bridle from Bartville once - I’d call it workmanlike at best. I returned it because it was clunky and the details weren’t right. Like the holes for a cheekpiece weren’t straight.
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Yeah, I would call Bartville “utilitarian” at best. They don’t make a bridle with any kind of style like a nice wide noseband rolled Weymouth.
my Eponia bridle was fine, but they’re more about flash than quality and I had a very hard time getting ahold of the owner of the US distributor. I wouldn’t say it was better than a basic Passier.
My rolled bridle is a schumacher with a Passier cutaway noseband. It’s very high quality, so I’m not sure if people are aware that most of these companies have a lower end line and a higher end line. I was considering a schockemohle Malibu and I didn’t see any quality issues with it. But it’s a $500 bridle.
Yes – Bartville! Thanks.
I agree they are not trendy at all, and are more utilitarian… but in my experience their leather is very hardy and stands the test of time. They can make custom bridles for you. The barn I was referring to up-post has several custom goods from Bartville that are very nice, some with padded headstalls. I haven’t seen issues with quality, but I understand they are not everyone’s cup of tea because of their thick straps and clunky buckles. They are very popular with the eventing crowd because of how hardy the leather is.
I am glad to hear that about KL. My experience with them whilst working with a tack vendor distributing them was very negative. We had too many returns for excess seeping, undone stitches, etc. The leather was always very soft but after having too many customers attempt to return a bridle after +1 year of owning, we discontinued stocking KL Select/Red Barn entirely.
I can’t get behind OS’s prices, though I own several of their strapgoods (a rolled bridle, a browband, and a headstall - all purchased used). I think $500 is past the point of “quality” and into “extremely high quality” threshold, not something I think that they produce. They have custom bridles of the same quality for $1,000; no standard bridle costs that much to make. The vendor I worked for stocked them, and I handled their products plenty - and didn’t think they were any better than Passier.
I concur completely with @beowulf on both the Otto and Stubben assessments. I have brand-new Otto and brand-new Stubben and there is no appreciable difference in quality. If anything, the Stubben takes conditioner better and stays more moist and supple between cleanings. I also agree with the poster who stated that getting to the high end with dressage bridles usually just means added junk like patent accents and blingy browbands, so i love Stubben for having some really interesting models of bridle that are different without being tacky while retaining the quality standard. You can still get split crowns, brass buckles, different widths and raise heights on your nosebands, accented (but not sparkly) browbands, etc., with them. I even saw a Limerick model on ebay recently that was a light honey color with white padding and a drop nose. I mean, If you really wanted to get wacky.
OP, are you wanting brand-new? I ask because i hate the bridle break-in process, and because the nicest bridles I own personally i purchased used from people who took immaculate care of them. Many are hard to find and/or not made any more. I’m thinking specifically of my Jaguar, but I have a Jeffries and two double-raised SmartPak Wellfleets (i know, right?) that came to me in literally like-new condition that I would stack up against Otto, Vespucci or even KB/Albion.
I’ve been on the hunt for a nice rolled bridle. I’m trying to find a style I like and quality.
I do not have a PS of Sweden bridle, but I do have their rolled reins. I like them because they are very thin with rubber only on the inside. However, the quality isn’t impressive in respect to the leather. I’m hesitant to purchase a bridle from them.
I own an Eponia that is nice enough, but their customer service is horrible, and somewhat incompetent. Therefore, I would not buy again.
NOT “Top Quality” but has been good enough for me.
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/harwich-dressage-bridle-by-smartpak--14445
The one I have is a few years old. I did not care for the reins and replaced them with some plaited (not laced) black reins that I ordered from the UK.
I am not a fan of bling and I am not a fan of patent; however I do like some of the modern ergonomic styles. I will check out Stubben and Albion. I don’t necessarily need brand new; but finding quality used is no breeze either. I had that smart pack one once - leather not the quality I would like to find. I guess by high quality I want leather that still looks good after many years! I really think the OS leather quality does not justify the price. I saw an older KL that was quite nice - I don’t know if they are still high quality. Appreciate the opinions and still welcome more!
Bridle2fit are absolutely gorgeous and you have lots of options as far as crown piece, rolled/flat, etc. The price is pretty decent for a super high end bridle - around 300-400 including shipping. www.bridle2fit.com
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